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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27778174">not romantically, of course</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Michael_hamiltrash/pseuds/Michael_hamiltrash'>Michael_hamiltrash</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>I Care About You [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Hamilton - Miranda</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Aromantic, Asexual Character, Asexual James Madison, Bisexual Male Character, Bisexual Thomas Jefferson, Coming Out, LGBTQ Themes, M/M, Queerplatonic Relationships, aroace</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-11-29</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-11-29</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-11 00:14:32</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,264</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27778174</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Michael_hamiltrash/pseuds/Michael_hamiltrash</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>James thinks that Thomas will be unaccepting when he comes out as aromantic and asexual to him, but, shockingly, Thomas isn’t, and he surprises James with his own coming out.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Thomas Jefferson/James Madison</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>I Care About You [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/2032861</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>22</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>not romantically, of course</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>James’ hands shook with fear, as he made his way to Thomas and his dorm. He couldn’t believe that he was really about to do this. He couldn’t believe that he was really going to take the step and come out to Thomas as aromantic and asexual. James had known for a while that he was queer, but he didn’t know in what way until a week ago. Since then, he had been stressing over what he was going to say to Thomas in order to come out, considering James didn’t know about his friend’s views on the LGBTQ+ community.</p><p>Thomas and James had been best friends since first grade, and if Thomas abandoned James because of this, James didn’t know what he would do. He didn't have many other friends besides Jefferson, so dorming would be awkward and uncomfortable. James just hoped that it wouldn’t come to that point and that Thomas would be accepting, or tolerating of him, at the very least.</p><p>Soon enough, James arrived at his and Thomas’ shared dorm room, as he pushed the door open and closed it nervously. Luckily, Thomas was still out, so James had plenty of time to prepare for what he was going to say. However, at the same time, the preparation time also served as a painfully slow waiting time for Thomas to come home, which didn't do much for James’ nerves.</p><p>Hopefully, James thought, things would go better than he was anticipating.</p><p>______</p><p>Time passed, and Thomas walked through the dorm room door, his bag in his hand and his usual smirk on his face. James felt his nerves skyrocket when he heard Jefferson’s southern drawl calling out his name from the hallway.</p><p>“Jemmy!” Thomas said, as he made his way to the living room. “I’m back, and I brought chinese food!”</p><p>James prayed that his voice wouldn’t give up on him, while Thomas went into the kitchen and placed the bags of chinese food on the counter. The latter then walked back into the living room to greet his friend, but stopped when he saw James’ face.</p><p>Madison looked so...scared, and nervous, and a lot of other unpleasant things. He looked as if he was going to pass out at any second, what with how pale his face was. On top of that, James’ eyes were darting around the room in an anxious manner, which made Thomas wonder if James was having a panic attack. It would make sense; Madison had been suffering from anxiety ever since high school, so it wasn’t far off.</p><p>But, something, whether it be an internal voice or some kind of spiritual force, told Thomas that it was more than just another panic attack. There was something different about James and how he was seated that didn’t resemble his usual anxiety-induced panic attack. This and the fact that James would have texted Thomas if he was panicking made Jefferson wonder what was going on, and why his best friend looked like he had seen a ghost.</p><p>“James,” Thomas said carefully. “What’s wrong? Are you okay”</p><p>Madison inhaled and exhaled, before nodding in response to Thomas’ question.</p><p>“Yeah,” James replied, his voice shaking. “But, I have something I need to talk with you about.”</p><p>“Okay,” Thomas answered, sitting down next to James and putting a comforting hand on his shoulder. “Just go whenever you’re ready.”</p><p>The shorter male took a deep breath, running through every word he was going to say in his mind, before blurting everything out.</p><p>“I’m aromantic asexual...which means that I don’t experience romantic or sexual attraction to anyone of any gender. I am a part of the LGBTQ+ community, and if that’s a problem, I don’t care, because I’m proud of who I am.”</p><p>A long pause of silence followed James’ statement, before Thomas spoke.</p><p>“James, I…” Thomas started. “I don’t know what to say, but what I think I should start with is that there won’t be a problem.”</p><p>James let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding, as the tears that had been building up since he got home started to fall. He was so relieved that he was being accepted by such an important person in his life, and he couldn’t be happier.</p><p>Thomas noticed his friend’s tears and pulled him in for a loving embrace, which James gladly returned. It felt so good to be in Thomas’ arms. They were so comforting and warm, and it made James feel like he was on top of the world.</p><p>However, it seemed that Thomas wasn’t quite done with his response to James’ coming out.</p><p>“Although, Jemmy,” Thomas continued. “I guess that this would be a good time to tell you something that I haven’t told you yet.”</p><p>James looked up at his best friend, awaiting his words. He expected some kind of boundary between the two of them to be put in place, but not what was about to come next.</p><p>“I’m bisexual,” Thomas stated. “And, I’m kind of...in love with you.”</p><p>Everything in James’ world stopped for a second, as the reality of the situation finally hit him, and more tears fell from his eyes. He couldn’t believe that his best friend, of all people, actually loved him, in a romantic way. He had been expecting a rule to be made for the two of them, or something, anything else, but not this.</p><p>Then, James realized: he didn’t-couldn’t-return Thomas’ feelings, no matter how much he wanted to.</p><p>James cared about Thomas; he loved him, he really did, but not in the same way Thomas did him. And, he never would. His love for Thomas would always be platonic, no matter how much James wished it could change.</p><p>At that moment, all James could muster out was a simple ‘oh’, which seemed to worry Thomas, a lot.</p><p>“I-I’m so sorry, James,” Thomas said, his voice wavering. “I-If I could change how I felt, I promise, with all of my heart, that I would. I know you don’t-can’t-feel the same way, and that’s okay, a-and, if you want to stop being friends with me and change dorms, then I can accept that-”</p><p>“No!” James shouted, cutting his best friend off.</p><p>The two remained quiet, until James spoke again.</p><p>“No, Thomas, it’s okay, I promise,” The smaller man assured, looking up and smiling. “In fact, it’s more than alright.”</p><p>“Wh-What do you mean, Jemmy?” Thomas asked, sounding confused. “I love you, in a romantic way! That’s not okay, isn’t it?”</p><p>James took a moment to prepare his next words, before replying.</p><p>“Have you ever heard of queerplatonic relationships?” He asked, praying that Thomas would get it.</p><p>“I may have heard of them,” The taller male responded. “Why?”</p><p>“Well,” James started. “A queerplatonic relationship is a relationship between two very close friends that is more than platonic, but not romantic. Generally, anyone can have one, but they’re very prominent in the aroace community.”</p><p>James hoped that Thomas would understand where he was going with this, and luckily, he did.</p><p>“You mean that…” Thomas said, seeming unable to speak. “We can have this?”</p><p>James nodded, smiling wider than ever before. At the motion of his best friend’s head, Thomas pulled James in for another hug, only this one was much tighter. James hugged his friend back, and he could feel Thomas’ tears soaking through his sweater. James never thought that Thomas would ever feel as strongly for him as he did for Thomas, but apparently, he did. And now, they would get to be together forever.</p><p>Not romantically, of course.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Hey! This is my first fic on this site, so I know it's not too good! Thanks for reading!</p></blockquote></div></div>
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